Dumbo – Big Top Edition
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: B+
After the huge success of Pinocchio and
groundbreaking Fantasia, Walt Disney turned to the story of a baby
elephant outcast and the result was another classic. Dumbo runs only 63 minutes, but it is one of the most
remarkable works of Disney’s career.
The stork is having a heavy season, but at first, has no bundle of joy
for Mrs. Jumbo. Later after his next
mapping out, the stork finally makes a delivery to a previously disappointed
Mrs. Jumbo. Among a bunch of snobby
fellow female elephants, “Jumbo Jr.” arrives, but with his big ears, one of the
ignorant snobs dubs him “Dumbo” and the name sticks.
Being stigmatized is not enough, however, as the mother
becomes increasingly overprotective and when this crosses over into the human
world, disaster strikes. This is one of
the most intelligent, emotionally involving animated features in the history of
the artform, with a brilliant combination of character development, storytelling
and use of animation in color and design that keeps the film timeless and then
some. This is the second time the film
has been issued on DVD and is one of the films that remains a key part of the
bedrock foundation that makes Disney as a company even possible today. The film is worth revisiting again and
again.
The 1.33 X 1 image is the same as the 60th
Anniversary DVD version with much-needed restoration still needed. Where Snow White is nice and clean,
there are more than a few cases of cel dust throughout, and though color is
usually consistent, this is far from the vibrant, brilliant dye-transfer
three-strip Technicolor the film was originally issued in. Maybe when the Blu-ray comes out, they will
have fixed this up fully, but the transfer is still good and better than the
two older bonus theatrical cartoon shorts in the extras section. The film was released in 1941 and not with
the kind of experimental sound Fantasia offered a year before, so the
Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes (in 3 languages) all have limits. A newer version could yield better results
and DTS would help.
Besides the theatrical animated shorts Elmer Elephant
and The Flying Moose, you get Look Out For Mr. Stork and Casey
Junior sing-alongs, Baby Mine Music Video, cyber storybook, games,
art stills, original TV intro by Walt Disney himself, featurette (14:50) about
the popularity of the film and audio commentaries. A card game is inside the DVD case and a nice slipcase is
included in complete copies. The 60th
Anniversary DVD version had extras missing here, though neither have
theatrical trailers or theatrical poster art, so there is something for them to
hunt down and add in a later version.
- Nicholas Sheffo
